Well after that, would you have preferred to wait a little longer for ‘real football’ to come along?

Arsenal put in your quintessential international-football-hangover performance against Sunderland and were unable to gel sufficiently to create chances on goal.

At one point I was fooled into thinking we were passing the ball quite well – the game had a jilted, slowish feeling to it and while the passing seemed good enough in tight areas, Sunderland’s midfield were wily and clever, denying us space at just the right time. Their defence was mostly untroubled.

Then the fancy flicks started coming. And that was where, from my throne armchair, it seemed we were playing in completely the wrong style for the occassion. Urgency is one quality being bandied about post-match, but to me, it just seems like ‘Keep it Simple, Stupid’ would have sufficed at times.

Rosicky, Eduardo and Nasri tried the fancy pass far too many times and for an attack that looks so juicy on paper, they were not much of a threat. A good cross from Traore in the first half was knocked down to Rosicky, who hit the half volley which was well saved by the Sunderland ‘keeper. That was our best (and only) real chance of the half, and it felt like we should have taken it.

The second half failed to rouse the players. Song, while dominant and sneaky with his positioning, seemed somewhat reserved with a yellow card suspension floating over his head, and more and more passes started going astray. Sunderland, all the while and to their credit, kept plugging away and earned themselves a corner.

Don’t know about you, but it just came as no surprise when we conceded from it. A good delivery was missed by the defence, and the scramble resulted in Darren Bent firing home from close range for the decisive goal.

Wenger threw on Walcott, Arshavin and Vela in an effort to re-energise Arsenal and while Vela may have had a penalty shout late on, we can still only have ourselves to blame for that loss.

Almunia – 6: Not a save to make for most of the game, then the corner came and the defence was a shambles. I’ll fault him for some communication problems there, but he literally dived head first at that ball when Bent beat him to it, so bravery isn’t the problem. Made a good save later on from a Sunderland cross-shot.
Sagna – 7: Worked hard and tried as well as he could to get his crosses in to forwards who weren’t functioning. Mostly untroubled at the back and got back quickly when the break was on.
Gallas – 7: Consumate in defence and looked promising going forward. Got his head to the ball and no real complaints over his performance today.
Vermaelen – 6.5: Again, seemed all at sea for Sunderland’s corner, similar to Wolves’ goal two weeks ago. Had a big swing at the ball on one of his forays forward, but he has had better games than today, quiet as it was.
Traore – 7: Might prove to be the target of abuse if fans need someone to pick on, but he was actually quite fine today. One cross was blasted over as he is prone today, but another was spot on as Arsenal nearly scored in the first half. Showed good recovery pace and made a reasonable return to the side.
Song – 7: Passed better than most, got his body on the line, but seemed a touch reserved today. Probably on orders not to get a card. Had one mazy dribble in the first half that nearly led to a goal. Nearly is a stupid word.
Fabregas – 7: Okay for the most part and did what he could to spur the team on. But was weighed down by a malfunctioning midfield
Ramsey – 5: One of those days when you realise how young the player is. Nothing came off for Aaron today and he looked genuinely jilted in midfield. Wasn’t quite sitting back, wasn’t quite going forward, and Sunderland pounced on his indecision.
Rosicky – 5: Should have finished a good move in the first half. After that, was the Bermuda Triangle where all Arsenal’s passes got lost. Fancy flicks never came off, ran into dead ends, and just had one of those days.
Nasri – 5.5: Almost the exact same as Rosicky. Got shifted to the centre when Arshavin came on for Ramsey, and did a marginally better job than the Welshman there.
Eduardo – 5.5: Still not quite confident going into tackles, but was made to look bad by very poor service.
SUBS: Arshavin – 6: Came on, promised some directness and increased skills but ultimate couldn’t conjure up the required magic. Nearly got on the end of a floated Song ball but was too far to finish.
Walcott – 6: Sunderland did well to close him down and deny him space to run, but Theo was still able to squirm into spaces and offer up a few passes here and there. However, could not get the telling cross in from the byline.
Vela – 5: Not much more luck than Rosicky and hasn’t really shown an ability to penetrate at Premier League level. While there is a lot of hype and hope for the kid, the truth of the matter is the jury is still very much out on the Mexican.

Let’s not get carried away with the loss. If we’re honest, citing this as a ’shock loss’ is not exactly true. Sunderland have and will take points from the top sides this season and we don’t have a good record at their ground at all. In yesterday’s blog I said

“A draw looks likely, perhaps even leaning towards Sunderland sneaking the win, here. Arsenal are traditionally shambolic after international breaks…”

And I know that quite a few shared that sentiment before the game too. As for the performance, the mix of shuffling the attacking pack and coming back from internationals historically always makes life difficult for the players.

It’s the first time we’ve been blanked this season, so full credit to Sunderland who played a clever, street-wise game. But urgency was an issue, and begrudgingly yes, you could see we missed van Persie, here.

However, the Dutchman’s absence should not be nearly as costly as the Armageddon press insists it is. His close control is a real plus for the forward line and that was lacking today. But so were many other things, including a real howler of a performance from Aaron Ramsey.

They young Welshman is still learning his way around the Premier League and has massive potential, but his age means that every now and again, a game like this will rear its ugly head.

The next two games now take on greater importance. Standard Liege at home must be a win to go through to the next round of European competition, but it must also be the trial run for Chelsea. A return to confident goal scoring is a must to fine tune our best weapon against the Blues.

Then, there’s the big game against Chelsea. With any luck they’ll still be without Lampard and a few others, but they didn’t seem bothered against Wolves. It’s a must win game to keep up with them, but more can be said about that later in the week.

Still, can’t help but feel a little glum about a rather jaded performance. Thoughts?

Filed under: Arsenal, English Premier League